The Fayette Citizen-News Page

Wednesday, September 17, 2003

Fayette folks who work for state Supt. Kathy Cox

STUART BENNETT: Deputy State Superintendent of Policy and External Affairs from Fayette County Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum.

CHARLOTTE ROBINSON: Director of Student Testing Improvement from teacher at Starr's Mill High School.

STEPHEN PRUITT: State Science Coordinator from teacher at Starr's Mill High School.

KAY SEABOLT: Retired from Fayette County this year as math coordinator, working part-time for the state.

DEBBIE THOMPSON: Formerly special education coordinator for Fayette County.

COURTNEY BURNETT: Confidential assistant to Kathy Cox, 1994 graduate of Sandy Creek High.

SUE GOODMAN: Secretary to Kathy Cox, formerly secretary at McIntosh High.

ROGENE MOORE: Secretary to Stuart Bennett, formerly secretary in the Fayette County central office.

State Superintendent Kathy Cox

PERSONAL: Married to John Hamilton Cox, Jr., they have two children in Peachtree City schools, John and Alex. Active at Peachtree City United Methodist Church and the Peachtree City Kiwanis, as well as Cub Scout Pack 201 and Boy Scout Troop 275.

PROFESSIONAL: First elected to public office as State Representative of the 105th District in 1998. She received both her master's and bachelor's degrees in political science from Emory University, where she graduated with high honors and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. For 15 years, she was employed with the Fayette County Board of Education as a social studies teacher, most recently at Mclntosh High School, a 2001 Georgia School of Excellence.

DUTIES: As state school superintendent, Kathy serves as the executive director for the Georgia Department of Education. In that capacity, she is the state's top elected official over Georgia's K-12 public schools and the chief executive officer of the Board of Education, whose members are appointed by the governor. She oversees more than 300 employees and an annual budget of nearly $7 billion.

VISION: To lead the nation in improving student achievement. To accomplish this vision, the mission of the Department of Education is to function as a service-oriented, policy-driven, and restructured agency that meets the needs of local school systems as they go about the business of preparing all students for college or a career in a safe and drug-free environment where no child is left behind.